


The sun will shine again

by Rizz07



Category: Formula E RPF
Genre: Disappointment, Honesty, Light Angst, M/M, being there for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:05:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23879554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rizz07/pseuds/Rizz07
Summary: The garage was completely silent. Everyone was already long gone when Robin finally found the strength to get up.Robin is utterly disappointed after the first race in New York and find he is not the only one.
Relationships: André Lotterer/Jean-Eric Vergne, António Félix da Costa/Robin Frijns
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	The sun will shine again

**Author's Note:**

> I found this sitting among my unfinished work. I wrote this after the first race in New York, feeling disappointed as most of my favs had a bad race.

The garage was completely silent. Everyone was already long gone when Robin finally found the strength to get up from the corner he had been huddled in. Still feeling numb after having to retire from yet another race. He was a competitor, he wanted to win and if that wasn’t possible he wanted to race for the best result he could get. So having to retire early yet again, of having another race without points was incredible frustrating. And that feeling had prevailed when he had walked into the garage, along with anger, sadness and just pure disappointment, but in the end he just felt numb. Not wanting to talk to anyone, he had just retreated in a corner somewhere, to have pretty much his own pity party. But he knew he had to get back to his hotel eventually, knowing he still had another race, another opportunity tomorrow. Getting his tired limbs to start working again, he slowly made his way out of the garage and into the New York night which was very silent. Although you could still hear the noises from the heart of the city vaguely in the back ground, but around the track itself it was just quiet.

Thinking he was alone, Robin took his time. Hands deep in his pocket as he sauntered past the other garages. Imagine the scare he got when he suddenly collided with another body. Startled, his hand flew to his heart. Before he checked who else was here so late. Yes having to move up, to see it was André Lotterer. From what he had managed to catch from the guys in the garage both Techeetah drivers had had terrible luck in the race as well. Something about both cars having major damage if he heard correct. Not that he knew what had caused it, nor had he cared to find out.

“Robin, what are you doing here?” Came André’s surprised question, after he got over his own shock.

Shrugging Robin answered, “Moping.” No use in hiding it. Nor having the energy of putting on a brave face or coming up with an excuse.

“Oh yeah, your race sucked as well, didn’t it?” the man said, rubbing his hand over his face. And even in the barely lit grid, Robin noticed how tired he looked.

“Are you okay?” he found himself asking. Feeling a little uncomfortable as he normally didn’t really interact much with the…, was it German? That was the country he was driving for, but Robin wasn’t sure what nationality to actually put on the older man. But anyway, they normally didn’t really interact, at least not one on one, as there were always other people around when they did talk.

André huffed out a laugh, but it didn’t sound right. It sounded bitter, frustrated and maybe even a little sad. “Don’t think I am. My race was fucked up and so was Jev’s and now he won’t even leave the garage and I am too damn tired to deal with all this shit!” A frustrating hand running through his hair.

Robin blinked, a little taken back by the sudden outburst, but even so, he could understand where the man was coming from. Knowing all too well how a bad race like this could leave you totally drained. Before he knew what he was doing, he stepped closer to the man, wrapping his arms around the older man’s waist and hugged him. Feeling how André froze and stayed like that to the point that Robin started to think he had made a serious mistake. Starting to feel uncomfortable, he was about to pull back when André finally relaxed and circled his own arms around Robin. Letting out a shuddered breath, the taller man resting his head on top of the Dutchman’s.

They stayed like that for a very long time, but somehow the hug just felt right, comforting and Robin could feel some of his own bitterness drain from his body. “Thank you” André said softly as they pulled apart.

Giving him a soft smile, Robin’s eyes darted to the garage. “Do you need help with Vergne?” he asked. Not that he had any idea how to do that, but he did wanted to help.

“Don’t think you can.” André sighed despondent, looking into the garage with sorrowful eyes.

Robin shrugged. “I can try right?” he said nonchalant, although he doubted he would have more luck than André, who was not only Vergne’s teammate, but also one of his closest friends it seemed, bromance and all. But somehow he just had to try. Not wanting to leave a clearly exhausted Lotterer to deal with this by himself.

So with a sudden determination he marched into the garage and up to the door André pointed at and just knocked on it, unsurprisingly getting no response. Biting his lip, he considered his options, before knocking again. “Jean-Eric?” he asked softly.

Again there was no response and he was about to knock again, when he heard movement from the other side of the door. Seconds later the door was all but thrown open, revealing a exhausted looking Vergne. The man eyed him in surprised, before moving them to André. “Using others to get me out now?” the Frenchman accused his teammate, seemingly irritated.

The older opened to respond, but Robin was faster. “I volunteered actually” he told him.

Instantly Vergne’s eyes shot back to him, raising an eyebrow. “And what are you still doing here?” Came the pretty harsh sounding question.

“Jev” André said warningly, placing a hand on Robin’s shoulder. “He’s just trying to help.”

“Same reason that you are here, probably?” Robin calmly stated. Not showing how uncomfortable the Frenchman was making him feel. André, probably feeling how tense his shoulders were as he was still holding onto one, squeezed it.

“You weren’t about to be champion” the Frenchman argued.

“You didn’t retire from the second consecutive time” Robin countered. Knowing that their situations were indeed very different, but that didn’t make one necessarily worse than the other. 

Vergne started at him, clearly not expecting that kind of comeback from him, but Robin wasn’t one to back down, so he held his gaze. “All three of us had races we just want to forget about” André spoke up, coming between them.

Moving his eyes to his teammate, Vergne glared. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Yes you can!” It was Robin who argued with him, making both guys stare at him. “And you will. You will focus on tomorrow and do everything you can to finish the job you came here to do.”

Again Vergne raised an eyebrow. “Everything I can? You don’t think, I can do it?”

Robin shook his head. “I didn’t say that, because I think you can. But I also don’t want to take anything away from our fellow drivers.” It was true. He knew Jean-Eric was one hell of a racer, but so where the others and they would do everything they could to win the championship as well, no matter if it was only a small chance for most of them.

For a moment Vergne just started at him, but then nodded, seemingly relaxing a bit. “Good point.”

“Well we all know which driver Robin here prefers anyway” André teased, trying to lighten the mood. Stepping up behind Robin, he grabbed a hold of both his shoulders, squeezing them a little. Groaning the Dutchman already knew where this was going, being all too familiar with it.

Jean-Eric’s lips curled up a little, despite himself. “Ah yeah, Sam told me about that.” Hanging his head, Robin cursed ever doing Behind the Visor, as that’s when all the teasing about this subject had started. 

There was another squeeze of his shoulders. “Ah don’t feel bad Robin, Jev here knows all about having a boy crush on another driver” André teased, looking over his shoulder at Vergne with a smirk.

Jean-Eric just huffed, mumbling something about the pot calling the kettle black. Smiling Robin looked between the two drivers, also noticing how the Frenchman didn’t object or deny his teammates words. And from the way the two were knowingly looking at each other, he got the feeling there was definitely more to the story than that.

Feeling bold he dropped a clear hint, “Maybe more than a boy crush.”

“What?!” Vergne said a little too loudly, looking at the Dutchman with big shocked, but guarded eyes. Before composing himself. “What do you mean?”

Knowing he touched a very sensitive subject Robin bit his lip, lowering his eyes. “For me, I mean” he admitted softly, feeling his cheek heat up.

“No way” André exclaimed, dropping his hands from Robin’s shoulders. “Does he feel the same?”

“He better” was all Robin said, still looking down. Not that he was ashamed, but because he felt vulnerable admitting that. Even without the teasing, his relationship with Antonio wasn’t publicly known.

Another hand found itself on Robin’s shoulder, this time from the front, so it was Jean-Eric. “We won’t tell” the Frenchman entrusted in him with a soft smile. “And thank you for telling us this.”

“Yeah Robin” André joined in. “Even if you didn’t have to.”

Shrugging a little Robin gave them a smile. “We are not exactly hiding it, not to friends and family at least.”

Chuckling Jean-Eric reached out to grab André’s hand. “We know all about that.”

“I suspected as much” Robin revealed. “That’s why I told you.” Laughing André swung his arm over his shoulder. “But I meant what I said earlier, I do think you can be champion tomorrow Jean-Eric” he said, going back to why he was here in the first place.

“Jev, call me Jev” the Frenchman said with a smile. “And thank you.”

But Robin wasn’t done. “If I was reminded of one thing this year, it was that every race brings new possibilities” he continued. “Even if my races seem to go from one disappointment to the other.” As his bad luck seem to be unending. “But I still believe that tomorrow is a new race and everything is possible.”

“Do you really?” Jev wondered, not looking convinced.

“Well maybe not right now. The disappointment still has the upper hand” Robin admitted honestly. “But give me a good night of sleep and I will.”

“And you sleep good after a race like this?” Jean-Eric continued to ask, almost interrogating him.

“Mate, have you met me?” Robin asked with an easy grin.

That broke the Frenchman. “True. True” he laughed.

A yawn broke the moment, pulling the attention back to André. “What?” the older man said. “It’s late and I don’t know about you guys, but I am dead tired.”

Chuckling and without blushing Jev leaned in to kiss the older man. “Let’s go back to the hotel room.” Then he turned to Robin. “Do you need a lift back?”

Robin gave him a smile. “Nah mate, I’m good.”

“Alright see you tomorrow then” Jev told him and after saying their goodbye’s they went their different ways with Robin leaving and Jean-Eric grabbed his stuff. Walking away from the grid there was a smile on Robin’s face. The sudden encounter had done him really good. Taking his own words by heart. Tomorrow was a new day, with a new race and new possibilities. Someone would win and Jev would be champion, he was 99% certain of that.

**Author's Note:**

> If only Robin and Jev knew how the next day would go right 😉
> 
> Anyway let me know what you think of this and drop a kudo and comment 😊


End file.
